Shop / Nocturne in Black and Gold: The Falling Rocket

Fine art

Nocturne in Black and Gold: The Falling Rocket

James McNeill Whistler

1875 · Oil on panel · Detroit Institute of Arts

Size2:3 ratio

Frame

$59Unframed print · made to order

📦 Free shipping on every order, arriving in 4–9 business days with production included. Express ($14.90) at checkout arrives in 4–6 business days.

Complete the setHangs well with these two

This print

Nocturne in Black and Gold: The Falling Rocket

Arrangement in Grey and Black, No. 2: Portrait of Thomas Carlyle

Symphony in White, No. 1: The White Girl

3 × $59 at 16 × 24 in, unframed = $177 → $159.30 as a set · 10% included · free shipping

Choose different prints →

Giclée-printed to order on heavyweight matte fine-art paper

Free shipping worldwide · arrives in 4–9 business days

Arrives perfect or we reprint it — free

Secure checkout via Stripe

About this work

Artist: James McNeill Whistler (1834–1903)
Year: 1875
Medium: Oil on panel
Original size: 60.3 × 46.4 cm
Collection: Detroit Institute of Arts
Movement: Tonalism

Sparks from a firework drift down through the dark over Cremorne Gardens, a pleasure garden on the Thames at Chelsea, with faint figures and smoke below. When it was shown in 1877 the critic John Ruskin accused Whistler of 'flinging a pot of paint in the public's face'; Whistler sued for libel and won, but was awarded a single farthing in damages, and the costs bankrupted him. The painting is in the Detroit Institute of Arts.

This print reproduces the whole work, uncropped, from a high-resolution scan of the original. The original is in the public domain.

Where it works

A near-abstract night picture of black and gold sparks for a living room, study or bar in a black frame. It suits charcoal, navy or deep green walls and pairs with Ryder's moonlit pictures.

Style, size & framing detail

Style: Tonalism painting
Era: 19th century (1875)
Orientation: Portrait
Mood: dramatic, moody
Rooms: living room, study or library, dining room
Good gift for: housewarming, art lovers

Size. Prints at 12×18, 16×24, 24×36 in — 12×18 for a shelf, desk or a gallery-wall grid; 16×24 above a desk, console or in a hallway; 24×36 as the statement piece above a sofa or bed.

Framing. The gallery ground is part of the print, so frame it without a mat — dark wood flatters the lighter palette; black sharpens it.

Pairing. Pairs as a set of three with other famous painting prints (10% off three or more).

Details & materials

• Restored in-house from the original painting — cleaned and colour-trued at museum resolution • Heavyweight matte fine-art paper, giclée printed at 300 DPI • Sizes: 12×18, 16×24, 24×36 in; every size also available framed • Framed option: wood frame in black or dark wood, 12 mm wide and 22 mm deep, with a plexiglass front and no mat; the print is mounted inside and the frame's outside measures the listed size • Made to order; colours may vary slightly from screen

Shipping & returns

Printed after you order at the facility nearest you, then shipped. Standard delivery is free and takes 4–9 business days from order to door in the US, UK and EU (up to 10 elsewhere); Express takes 4–6 business days. Because each print is made to order we don't take change-of-mind returns, but if it arrives damaged or flawed we'll reprint or refund it — no return needed. Full policy →

Is this the whole painting, or a crop?

The whole work, uncropped. The image fills the print at the painting's own proportions; nothing is trimmed to fit a frame.

Is Nocturne in Black and Gold: The Falling Rocket in the public domain?

Yes. James McNeill Whistler (1834–1903) died more than 70 years ago and the work was published before 1929, so the painting itself is public domain. This print is a reproduction made from a high-resolution scan of the original, which is held by Detroit Institute of Arts.

What is it printed on?

Heavyweight matte fine-art paper with pigment inks, made to order in 12×18, 16×24 and 24×36 inches; every size is also offered framed in black or dark wood, with plexiglass and no mat. Colours are matched to the scan, not brightened.

When was Nocturne in Black and Gold: The Falling Rocket painted, and in what medium?

Nocturne in Black and Gold: The Falling Rocket dates from 1875 and was made in oil on panel; the original measures 60.3 × 46.4 cm.

What size works above a sofa or bed?

Across a three-seat sofa or a queen bed, 24×36 is the size that reads as one statement piece; 16×24 suits a narrower wall or a pair.

About this design

Nocturne in Black and Gold: The Falling Rocket (James McNeill Whistler) — Nocturne in Black and Gold: The Falling Rocket · James McNeill Whistler · 1875. This is a fine-art reproduction of a public-domain masterwork, shown whole and uncropped on a gallery ground, printed to order on heavyweight matte fine-art paper. Every size is offered unframed or framed in black or dark wood. Part of the Madten Fine Art Collection. — — — Printed to order and shipped by our production partner, Gelato.

Buy with confidence

The Madten promise

Gallery-grade archival giclée. Rich pigment inks on heavyweight fine-art paper (or gallery-wrapped canvas) — built to last, not a poster-shop print.

Arrives perfect or we reprint it — free. Every piece is made to order; if it shows up damaged or flawed we remake it, no return needed.

Free worldwide shipping. Made & shipped from the facility nearest you — most orders arrive in 4–9 business days.

Secure checkout. Payments handled by Stripe; we never see or store your card.

Also available as

An exhibition poster

The same artwork as a gallery exhibition poster — title, artist & date typeset beneath the image on a soft ground.

Exhibition poster

Nocturne in Black and Gold: The Falling Rocket — Exhibition Poster

Nocturne in Black and Gold: The Falling Rocket

About this work

The Madten promise

An exhibition poster

More by James McNeill Whistler

Related Fine Art